Thursday, January 28, 2016

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Good morning!

Last night at church, Preacher was talking about Joshua fighting the battle of Jericho.  He pointed out the fact that God gave them very specific instructions and told them they would win the battle - but they had to obey the instructions.  And that means they had to have the faith that God could be trusted and that what He said was true. 

So how does that apply to us?  Well, sometimes I pray as others ask me to pray - but sometimes I doubt the outcome is going to be what they are asking.  How often do we act like the Ten Commandments are the Ten Suggestions? 

God has given us the Bible - a giant book of instructions for this life.  We just need to follow the directions like Joshua and his army did - so our walls can come tumbling down.


Donna - recovering from surgery
Amy’s  uncle - much better; THANK YOU, LORD
Denise
David McCracken
Gloria and Larry Daniels
Myrlin – recovering from surgery – gets the pathology report this week
Albert Carter – heart problems; HOME, THANK YOU, LORD
Katelyn – home
David – recovering from surgery
Kenny – recovering from rotator cuff surgery
Dot Kent
Denise’s nephew, Logan – deployed with the Army
Gloria’s brother – IN REHAB
Will Carson – having back treatments to avoid surgery
Elaine Hollrah – doing better; THANK YOU, LORD
Charlene Johnson – FINISHED RADIATION; TESTS THIS WEEK
Larry – leg problems
Tamara – RADIATION TREATMENTS
B.J. Simpson – losing sight in his right eye
Enrique Gordon – Hodgkins Lymphoma
Nate Gillman – deployed Airman
Renee and Jamie
Marie Wacter
Dick & Libby Carpenter – he has dementia
Marvin - prostate cancer
Mitch Ray - throat cancer
Kirk - kidney problems – waiting for a transplant
Jake and Jerry - exchange students from China
Fay Wisenbaker - kindergarten teacher with lung cancer
Jo and her mom
Lori - the Lord knows
Judy Waller – STRUGGLING WITH BACK PAIN
Sandra Conyer – her mother is in hospice
Riley – autism
A young mother with 3 autistic children
Renee Jackson  - ALS
3030 Ministries
Our soldiers serving around the world and the families of those who have fallen




Before the Phone

Psalm 18:1-6King James Version (KJV)
18 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.

As a mom of young children I’m sometimes susceptible to panic. My first reaction is to call my mom on the phone and ask her what to do with my son’s allergy or my daughter’s sudden cough. Mom is a great resource, but when I read the Psalms, I’m reminded of how often we need the kind of help that no mortal can give. In Psalm 18 David was in great danger. Afraid, close to death, and in anguish, he called on the Lord.
    
David could say, “I love you, Lord” because he understood God was a fortress, a rock, and a deliverer (vv. 1-2). God was his shield, his salvation, and his stronghold. Maybe we cannot understand David’s praise because we have not experienced God’s help. It may be that we reach for the phone before going to God for advice and help.

Surely God puts people in our lives to give us help and comfort. But let’s also remember to pray. God will hear us. As David sang, “From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears” (v. 6). When we go to God, we join David’s song and enjoy Him as our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.

Next time you reach for the phone, remember also to pray.

Dear Lord, help me to remember You are my deliverer, and You always hear my cry.

Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.

Insight: Psalm 18 seems to be a song of retrospective understanding. In many of David’s psalms we find him being pursued and hunted, first by Saul and later by Absalom. During those times of flight and danger, David sometimes questioned God’s faithfulness, love, and care—wondering why the Lord didn’t intervene on his behalf. In Psalm 18, however, we see a more reflective David. He looked back on his journey and saw continuous evidence of the presence and protection of God along the way (vv. 1–3; 16–19; 25–29; 35–36; 47–50)—even in the seasons of life where that evidence seemed scarce. Now, looking back, David affirmed what he had questioned—the faithfulness of God.